louis vuitton is celebrating 160 years of creative exchanges and artist collaborations with a temporary retrospective detailing the maison’s history. entitled ‘louis vuitton X’, the french fashion house draws on over 180 items from its archives, bringing together a remarkable collection of early twentieth-century special-order trunks, art deco perfume bottles and iconic monogram bags reworked by renowned artists and designers such as karl lagerfeld, rei kawakubo, cindy sherman, and frank gehry.
images courtesy of louis vuitton
now open to the public, the vibrant exhibition, which takes place in a converted mansion on rodeo drive, is set across two floors and is comprised of ten distinct rooms. louis vuitton X presents objects and artworks in the following order: ‘louis vuitton: as seen by…;’ ‘origins: a tradition of modernity;’ ‘reinterpreting icons;’ ‘the monogram as a blank canvas;’ ‘art on silk;’ ‘art meets fashion;’ ‘lights, camera, action! louis vuitton on the red carpet’ and ‘magic malle: the past is present’.
opening the exhibition, ‘in louis vuitton: as seen by …,’ features a portrait of louis vuitton by american painter alex katz. the portrait was commissioned as part of an ongoing project for the brand that will see the house commission portraits from important artists from the 20th and 21st century to re-imagine the brand’s founder.
as visitors journey through the series of multi-hued spaces, the digitally-savvy among them will discover three louis vuitton-inspired instagram camera effects — developed specifically for the exhibition. using a smartphone, guests scan a bar code to unlock x-ray and technicolor filters that are exclusive and unique to the space.
a digital wall display pays tribute to the brand’s monogram holdall, including a never-before-seen bronze sculpture by sylvie fleury. other highlights include silk scarves by japanese architect arata isozaki as well as american conceptual artist sol lewitt.
louis vuitton X culminates with ‘artycapucines: six visions of a contemporary classic.’ timed to the exhibition, it celebrates the house’s latest collaborative project with six leading contemporary artists: sam falls, urs fischer, nicholas hlobo, alex israel, tschabalala self and jonas wood.
named after the street on which vuitton opened his first store, all artists have transformed the capucines bag according to their own aesthetic. israel designed a bright wave that includes quirky details such as a comb and mirror; woods fused 3D printed leather and hand-embroidery for his piece; fischer six detachable and hyper-realistic silicone fruit and vegetable charms; hlobo’s features a stitched leather pattern; self deconstructed the iconic monogram, crafting it back together in a patchwork; and fall’s is accompanied by the natural elegance of mother-of-pearl on the LV signature and handle rings.
project info
exhibition: louis vuitton X
address: los angeles, 468 N rodeo dr beverly hills, CA 90210
dates: june 28th – september 15th, 2019
hours: 10AM to 9PM monday-saturday; 11AM to 7PM sunday
fashion design phenomenons (52 articles)
'the hoodie' exhibition presents it as western fashion’s last truly political garment
designers are now selling 'digital clothes' that don't actually exist
how a green versace dress created google image search 18 years ago
louis vuitton (43 articles)
design news
TOP 10 reader submissions of 2019 - social impact
#design
from a migrant community center in thailand to earthquake resistant design in mexico, this year we have been inundated with submissions from our readers.
from a migrant community center in thailand to earthquake resistant design in mexico, this year we have been inundated with submissions from our readers.
enzo mari - a worker among workers - in unreleased video footage from 2008
#design
in our unreleased video footage, enzo mari defines the moral position of our profession to show its limits and dangers as only a great could do, with sublime »
in our unreleased video footage, enzo mari defines the moral position of our profession to show its limits and dangers as only a great could do, with sublime humility.
'puff' the rubber chicken bong squeaks when you smoke it
#design
designed by studio MSCHF, 'puff the squeaky chicken' features a perpetually open mouth and lazily bloodshot eyes.
designed by studio MSCHF, 'puff the squeaky chicken' features a perpetually open mouth and lazily bloodshot eyes.
fondation louis vuitton presents 'charlotte perriand: inventing a new world' in paris
#design
the exhibition pays tribute to the work of the visionary french architect and designer upon the twentieth anniversary of her passing.
the exhibition pays tribute to the work of the visionary french architect and designer upon the twentieth anniversary of her passing.